Do you ever see food on TV or at a restaurant and wonder, "who eats that stuff?" Yeah, that person is me. Nothing's more exciting to me than experiencing new, interesting things to eat. I've developed a reputation among family and friends for being willing to try anything (seriously, anything), so I’m challenging myself.
My premise is simple: to eat one new thing every day for a year (365 continuous days).

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Day 296

Buttermilk-Fried Chicken Necks: It's not too often that I get to eat the neck of anything, so when me and the GF decided to finally check out One Eared Stag in Inman Park tonight, I couldn't resist trying out the buttermilk-fried chicken necks they had featured on the small plates section of the menu. I previously attempted smoked turkey necks from Your Dekalb Farmers Market, but according to an informative reader, they aren't meant to be eaten, but used as a flavoring agent. Based on that info, I was curious to find out how One Eared Stag's chicken necks (which I assumed were indeed edible) compared to those.

These weren't just plain old fried chicken necks. OES's version were coated with buttermilk breading, deep fried, then covered with spicy kimchi. Not exactly like the buffalo wings that I normally see on every menu in town, and I couldn't wait to taste how the kimchi worked with the breading. I hoped the chicken necks offered more meat than the turkey necks - they couldn't have offered any less.

Our server brought the dish, and me and the GF were both astounded by the pile of food on the plate. For a starter, it looked ginormous. Each neck was about 6 inches long, and was coated with a light breading. A generous portion of kimchi was placed on top of the pile, and some of the spicy kimchi liquid coated several of the necks. It looked and smelled awesome, so I hoped it tasted just as good.

The results were surprising. I eagerly devoured the breading and kimchi from the necks, but was kind of disappointed in the actual neck. Each one only contained a couple of tiny shreds of dark meat, and while tasty, they were basically just a vehicle for the breading/kimchi. The meat tasted about the same as dark meat from a chicken wing or drumstick. I'm glad I tried them, but they didn't offer much of anything new for me.

After my negative experience with the turkey necks, I really hoped that chicken necks would offer more meat, but they were a lot of work for not much reward. In the future, I'll stick to wings or legs.

About Me

My name is Chris, and I’m an Atlanta resident & musician. I'm also culinary obsessed. As a result of my love for new, unusual foods, I’ve decided to go on a journey of sorts, and I’m sharing with the world.